Produce-shipping case.



M. E. BUTTS.

PRODUCE SHIPPING CASE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.14,1913.

Patented Dec.8,1914.

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THE MORRIS PETLNS C0.. PHOTOITHO WASHING TONV D C.

M. E. BUTTS.

PRODUCE SHIPPING CASE.

APPLwATIoN FILED MAR.14,1013,

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

2 SHEETS-3 EET 2 :fr Nome/5 PErERS Co, H Llrlm A5111 (lo MILAN E. BUTTS, 0F COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO.

PRODUCE-SHIPPING CASE.

Application 1cd March 14,1913.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it lmown that I, MILAN E. BU'r'rs, a citizen of the United States, residing at No. 217 East Cimarron street, Colorado Springs, in the county of El Paso and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Produce-Shipping Case, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to shipping cases for eggs, soft fruit and the like; and the objects of my invention are, generally, the provision in a mechantable form, of a device is which fragile or perishable articles may be shipped with safety not only to the articles themselves but to other packages with which it may come in contact when packed with eggs or other articles which would injure other packages with particular reference to the parcels post, which shall be devoid of complicated parts, inexpensive to manufacture and facile in operation; specically the provision of a resilient frame, tubular fluid tight containers within said frame, novel means of mounting said containers and novel means of emptyingsaid containers and novel reinforcing means which serve the double purpose of a reinforcement which is resilient `and a means to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of said containers relative to the packing medium.

Other objects will appear as the description progresses.

The invention consisting of the novel construction and arrangement of the parts hereinafter described is delineated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the claims, it being understood that within the scope of what hereinafter is claimed, divers changes in the form, size, material, proportion and minor details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

One embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the device, the side of the receptacle, the knob of the rod 15, the brace 14 and each wire 19 except one being broken away; Fig. 2 a plan view of Fig.` 1, the rod 15 and a spring B being broken away; Fig. 3 a vertical cross section through the center as it appears when the top and bottom sections holding the containers are lifted out of the annular sections Ashowingthe bag C turned inside out, a spring B being partly broken away; Fig. 4 a cross section through the center of a con- Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

Serial No. 754,301.

tainer D showing the interior members in place, the stopper and the spring 9 removed and the rod 15 screwed into the nut 6, and the helix wound left hand, drawn to an enlarged scale; and Fig. 5 a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view, drawn to an en-` larged scale showing thc manner of coating the container with wax P to protect it from moisture.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Two hoops H having springs B, B, B, B, mounted on the periphery thereof comprise the resilient protective frame; a receptacle comprising two annular sections A, a top removable section 2, a bottom removable section l and an elastic bag C shown convex in the drawing is secured within said frame. rIhe bottom removable section 1 is perforated to admit screw bolts 3 and the top removable section 2 is perforated to admit Stoppers.

Two braces 14 are secured to the annular sections by loops c which admit of their being removed. 4A hole which is threaded is provided in one brace and a hole which is not threaded is provided in the other brace for the purpose of clamping the top section 2 by means of the rod 15 which is flattened at the threaded end and is used as a screwdriver to remove and insert the bolts 3 as well as to clamp the top section 2.

D and F are tubular containers surround ed by helices. Each container with its helix is secured to the bottomsection by a bolt 3 which passes through the bottom section into a nut disposed in the bottom of said container. In the case of the short containers F the lower ends are threaded and a conical cap is used to close the upper end of each container. Bottles of cream, soft fruit or other articles may be placed in said containers. Each container D is provided with aremovable nut 6 having lugs extending from its sides which fit into slots in the conical portion of the container and prevent the nut from revolving when in the position shown in Fig. fi but which may be raised vertically during the operation of pushing the contents out. A `spring 7 is mounted upon said nut G to form a cushion for the eggs. In packing the container with eggs an egg 7 is placed upon the spring, a cushion 8 upon the egg, another egg upon the cushion and so on until the container is full,

the stopper containing the spring `9 is in` serted and the container is ready to be mounted within the receptacle.

The space between the containers is pref erably filled with butter previous to the insertion of the containers in which case the insertion is accomplished as follows-The bottom section 1 being in position the rod is thrust through a perforation emerging at the top of the butter, a container F is screwed on the end of the protruding rod, the rod and container are turned and screwed into the butter guided by the rod. When the bottom is reached the rod is removed and a screw bolt 3 is screwed into the lower end. During this operation the butter is pressed against the sides C to provide for this the sides are elastic. The containers F must be inserted before the top section 2 is in position but the other containers may be inserted before or afterward since the stopper holes in the top section 2 `are large enough to admit the containers. Tf inserted before the top section 2 is in position the Stoppers are not put into the containers until after insertion, if done afterward the stoppers may be put into the containers before insertion. The central container E is for ice and comprises a tube surrounded by a helix and having a tube at its lower end to admit of the water being drawn off. A stopper 11 having a recess 12 covered by a lid 13 is provided to perform the same function as the Stoppers in the other containers D, the recess being for the holding of in voices, coin or bills. This container is inserted in the same manner as the containers D. When packed as above the rod is used as a clamp to clamp the two braces together by thrusting it through the smooth hole in one brace and screwing it into the threaded hole of the other brace. This holds the top section in place and the stoppers over which it passes. Buttons are provided for the other Stoppers and may be provided for the ones over which the rod passes. Two staples 16 are secured to the bottom annular section to afford facilities to bind two or more cases together. This is accomplished by running the rod through the staples after they have been placed in line by setting one case on top of another case.

Vhen no butter or other substance is used to fill the intervening space, the containers are mounted on the bottom section without the aid of the rod except as a screw driver. They may be packed before or after mounting but preferably before. l/Vhen secured firmly at the bottom by the bolts 3, the top section 2 is fitted into place and the stoppers 4 and 11 are inserted in the proper holes and extend into their respective containers thereby closing the containers and holding the tops in position. Having an intervening substance the helices act as screw threads during the operation of insertion; in the case of no intervening substance they afford a reinforcement for the tubes and in the case of thin paper tubes they afford a degree of resiliency. The springs B provide'the main resiliency and are so shaped and disposed that the frame cannot fall upon a plane sur face without the springs receiving the impact. The convexity of the sides of the springs B protect the sides of the reeep tacle and the convex extension below the bottom and above the top of the receptacle protect the bottom and the top of the receptacle.

The case is unpacked as follows when packed in butter-the rod is removed, the bolts 3 are screwed out by the use of the rod, the top section 'Z is taken out and the containers are screwed out of the butter. The containers F are emptied by removing the conical cap. The containers l) may be emptied by first screwing the rod into the nuts 6 at the bottom of said containers and pushing it through the containers thereby pushing the contents out.

The wires 19 aord facilities to lift the bottom section 1 out and thereby turning the bag inside out. The loops of the wires are grasped by the fingers of the operator and pulled upward until they are out of the butter, when the bottom may be pulled upward and lifted out of the annular sectionsl thereby turning the bag inside out.

The wire loop on the rod 15 is provided for holding a tag without the necessity of using a string.

Having thus described my invention what T desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A protective frame for a receptacle comprising two horizontally disposed mem bers and a plurality of vertically disposed spring members mounted thereon extending conveXly above, below and outwardly therefrom.

2. Tn combination with a resilient protective frame; a receptacle comprising two horizontally disposed annular sections and two removable sections mounted within said annular sections, the lower removable section being connected to the upper annular section by a fabric extending from the inside of the top annular section to the outside of the lower removable section substantially as described and for the purposes specified.

In witness whereof 1 have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses this 10th day of March MILAN E. BUTTS. Witnesses:

O. W. HASCALL, E. J. KELsEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Sommissoner of yatents,`

; Washington, lfb. G. 

